Donald Payne

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I think that it is very important that we have the Development Fund for Africa first of all in a line item. For 10 years we have seen the development of success in Africa. We have seen countries that were under Communist domination like Benin and Ghana under military domination come to democratization. We have seen elections in Malawi and in Zambia and South Africa and Namibia, all with development funds that went to push our goal of democratization. We have seen child survival and education. We have seen illiteracy also on the downward trend. So I believe that to have the Development Fund for Africa, the $704 million earmarked, too. As we know, there are over 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. It comes to a little more than $1.10 per person. We have seen funds for countries where we have $5 billion for a population of 50 million people, 55 million people. It is a total disproportion of where the need is greatest. We believe that the need to have this 704, to have the Development Fund for Africa as an item in the budget is something that is extremely important. I wish that the gentleman would reconsider his point of order.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the development fund for Africa, DFA I will refer to it. My amendment to H.R. 3540, the 1997 Foreign Operations Bill, will aid in keeping humanitarian assistance in Africa. As my colleagues know, the fiscal year 1996 foreign operations bill for DEA was very troubling. This made deep cuts in the development assistance and created an international development assistance account that all worldwide development programs must draw from. The creation of this development account means the elimination of the Development Fund for Africa. The DFA is now in its 10th year. It is a very important factor in African development and has led the way in areas of democratization, poverty elimination, health, and economic development. Congress recognized the uniqueness of the continent's development challenges in establishing the DFA in 1987. This bipartisan effort reflected the conviction that the United States has clear national interest in promoting broad-based sustainable development in Africa. We must recognize that sub-Saharan African nations face unique development challenges in that there are problems in southern Sudan, Liberia, and Somalia and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. DFA's programs are doing what Americans think is the right thing to do with foreign aid. It is saving children's lives. It is fighting deadly diseases. It is conquering hunger and creating jobs and teaching people basic skills so that they can take care of themselves, so they can more away from aid, so that they can build democracies and promote stability. Africa faces the greatest development challenges of any other region in the world. Average GNP per capita in Latin America is five times greater than Africa. Africa's infant mortality and child mortality rates are two to three times greater than what it is in Latin America and in Asia. In many ways Africa is about 25 years behind Asia and Latin America. They have benefited from the decades of sustained American assistance in Asia and Latin America. Now we say it is Africa's time to benefit. A separate DFA appropriations will help us stay the course and continue to have successful, high impact programs which prevent crises and promote sustainable development. The $704 million requested for the DFA will be concentrated in those countries which are committed to sound economic policies and good democratic governance. I fiscal year 1996, the DFA received approximately $675 million from the total development assistance, and in fiscal year 1995 we received $804 million. This amendment that I have before the House today will help keep DFA at funding levels sufficient to foster development. Disaproportionate or serve cuts will undermine the purpose. It is in the U.S. national interest to assist African nations. this account suffered deep cuts in fiscal year 1996 when the DFA line item was eliminated. Instead, Africa aid was folded into a common development assistance fund, and funding was substantially reduced by more than $125 million to a level of $675 million. It is even more vital that funding levels remain consistent with demands to advance U.S. interests in Africa. I ask that Africa not be forgotten and, in Congress' effort to reprioritize America's AID spending, that Africa remain in the forefront. During the cold war, the United States stayed engaged in Africa to fight off the threat of communism. The cold war is over now, and now we have a chance to help Africa eradicate the problems of health care, eradicate illiteracy, eradicate AIDS, fight disease, and continue to move to democratization. Please support this. It is good for everyone. It is good for Africa. It is good for the world. I would urge support of my amendment.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues, an extraordinary family who has accepted an extraordinary mission. On Saturday, May 25, a tribute was paid to Bishop James A. Parrott. Bishop Parrott and the Parrott family responded to the noticeable plight of the hungry, the unemployed, the underemployed, and the myriad number of citizens who are forced to live on fixed incomes that are below the poverty level. What makes this unique? In 1981, before the modern-day soup kitchen was established in many of our communities, Bishop Parrott opened what was known as the ``Soup Kitchen at 1035 Broad Street'' in Newark, NJ. This small, seemingly insignificant gesture of consciousness cast the dye for what would become Bishop Parrott's street ministry. Lighthouse Community Services [LCS] was founded in 1981 and incorporated in 1989. The first meal was served on February 19, 1981 and consisted of homemade cornbread and soup prepared by Mother Ann Parrott, Mother Betty Martin and Mother Constance Baskerville. They started feeding a small group of about 20 individuals three times a week for lunch. What started as a modest number of 20 grew to 757. Since 1981 over 1 million meals have been served and over 5,000 persons have been temporarily housed at LCS. As the program grew so did the number of volunteers. In addition to nutritional meals being served daily, emergency shelter for men, women, and children is provided on a daily basis. The men's residential shelter is used to house those in need while they complete school and/or find jobs, thereby enabling them to return to the mainstream of society as productive citizens. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to bring the story of the Lighthouse Community Services to my colleagues and to the annals of U.S. history. The Parrott family has much of which to be proud and thankful. I offer my best wishes to Bishop James A. Parrott, Mother Ann Parrott and their children--James Jr., Dennis, deceased, Joan, Steven, Andrew and Mark. Five of the children are ordained clergy with the exception of Mark who is an ordained Deacon.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, May 25, a retirement party is being held in honor of Tally C. Talbot. Mr. Talbot is a man for all seasons. He has spent nearly all of his life in public service. Tally Talbot was born in Newark, NJ, my hometown. He is a man of diverse interests and experiences. He has been an educator, labor leader, senior citizen advocate, musician, public housing administrator, and Democratic district leader. He has truly served his community well. Mr. Talbot's retirement will mark the end of a 32-year career with the Newark Housing Authority. During these years, he has used his education, skills, and life experiences to help others. He has worked with, counseled, and served countless individuals. Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues will join me as I offer congratulations to Tally C. Talbot. I would also like to extend my best wishes to him and his family--his wife, Marta Adelina Talbot, and his two children, Erica and Joanne.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 75th Anniversary of The Lions Club of Newark. Friday, May 31, 1996, marks 75 years of continuous service and dedication to the community. The Lions Club is among the world's largest service organizations, working hard to live up to its time-tested motto, ``We Serve.'' Since its inception in May of 1921, the Lions Club of Newark has been a credit to the national organization, providing invaluable services to the youth and the elderly. Through the years, the Lions Club of Newark has also provided constant support for causes benefiting the blind and the sight impaired in addition to numerous local and community charities. It gives me great pleasure to stand here today to applaud the Lions Club of Newark on this great moment in its decorated history. In an age when people seem more concerned with getting ahead than they do with getting along, and hatred and violence litter our national headlines, it is refreshing and reassuring to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the works of the dedicated members of the Lions Club. They have accepted the challenge of creating a better community for the city of Newark with great courage and strength. Their commitment to the future leaders of our State and our Nation is reflected through the compassion and dedication with which they approach their work. This commitment is equally reflected in the revered Lions toast, ``Not Above You, Not Beneath You, But With You.'' It is with great pride that I stand before you to honor the valiant members of the Lions Club of Newark on this momentous occasion. For the past 75 years, the Lions Club of Newark has committed itself to charity and service for the good of the greater community. It is a beacon of hope during difficult times, and an inspiration to us all. On this 75th anniversary of the Lions Club of Newark, I stand before you to recognize and applaud the strength of the human spirit.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of an increase in the minimum wage so that we can give American workers a decent living wage, and I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, I rise in strong support of an increase in the minimum wage. I had the privilege of serving on the conference committee for the last minimum wage proposal, which was signed into law in 1989, under a Democratic-controlled Congress. It was the right thing to do then, and it is the right thing to do now--in this positive cycle of our economy. Under President Clinton's leadership, we have developed very strong economic indicators. The deficit is down, new jobs have been created, and inflation is under control. The working people of this country deserve to enjoy the benefits of the economic good news. Let me share with my colleagues our experience in my home State of New Jersey. I am proud that we have led the Nation in giving workers a livable wage. Despite the predictions of gloom and doom in some quarters, economists at Princeton University surveyed businesses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the spring of 1992, after New Jersey raised the minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.05. The results indicated that businesses in New Jersey actually added employees while in Pennsylvania, hiring remained stagnant. We hear a lot of talk about family values, but what does it say when we fail to pay workers enough to support their families? Despite all the talk about welfare, the fact is that most poor people in this country work. They just cannot make ends meet in low wage jobs. Let's help lift the standard of living for working families in this Nation, so that they can educate their children, buy their home, and fulfill the American dream. I urge my colleagues to support an increase in the minimum wage.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for that kind introduction, and I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 160 sponsored by my good friend, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Houghton]. I also want to congratulate the people of Sierra Leone on their democratic elections held on the 26th and 27th of February of this year, the first time in over 31 years that the people of that country have had free elections. Sierra Leone gained its independence in 1961 from Britain and since that time it has had a government that showed very little compassion for its people. Relief agencies estimate that half of the country's 4 million people are refugees. The life expectancy is 42 years, and the once diamond trade has virtually dissipated into the hands of the military government. However, thanks to many concerned individuals, we have seen a successful election. I would like to pay tribute to two individuals, Derhanu Dinka, the United Nations special representative to Sierra Leone who played a key role in this election, and James Jonah, a former senior United Nations official from Sierra Leone who returned back to his country to help save it. Let me speak of Mr. Jonah's role of bringing country peace to Sierra Leone. Mr. Jonah returned home at the military's invitation to head an electoral commission and surprised the army by keeping his promise to hold honest elections. Many times Mr. Jonah's determination almost cost him his life when he refused to raise the minimum wage required for Presidential candidates so that it would not discriminate against any other candidates. Many contributions were made by both Mr. Jonah and others who worked so hard. Others also contributed to the success of the elections. There were groups of international and domestic election monitors who stayed there to be sure that the elections were transparent, open and free. Despite deadly conflicts between citizens and those seeking to disrupt the elections in Bo and Kenema, the electoral process was largely peaceful and the people refused to allow a group of thugs who came in to disrupt the election to allow that to happen. They came out and said that we want to vote, and they voted, and it was fair and it was free. So I commend the people of Sierra Leone for this tremendous election. Let me just say in conclusion that there have been successful elections in a number of countries in Africa. We saw the 30-year leader, Kenneth Kuanden in Zambia, who stood for elections, take the defeat and move out to his village. We saw a 35-year President in Malawi, Life President Banda, they called him Life President because he was expected to be there for life, allowed multiparty elections. He lost and he also returned to his village. We see peace now in Mozambique where we have had recent elections, where the Renamo forces and the government have come together. In Angola, UNITA and the FLMA, President dos Santos' government have come to have a government of unity. Still problems, but they are working on it. In Namibia, the SWAPO organization have come in and taken hold of the government and those elections and are moving to a true democracy. South Africa we saw the first nonracial elections held recently, and the Mandela government is moving forth trying to create opportunities. Ethiopia has ended its long war, and with Mr. Meles Zenawi leading the government. Eritrea, Benin, and I could go on and on. But I want to point to the success of democracy. The world is taking what we have and we should be willing to share it and help with its development.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I will conclude by saying I urge my colleagues in the House to support a budget plan that will truly set us on a bold new course. We know that the policies of the 1980's brought us wasteful military spending and costly tax breaks for the affluent, while saddling our Nation with massive debt. Let us reject those worn out ideas and invest in America's people. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Owens], chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Budget Task Force, who worked tirelessly on this last year and this year, and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order under the rule.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am proud to join my distinguished colleague from New York, Major Owens, and our friends in the Progressive Caucus, in offering a budget plan to renew America by reordering our national priorities. It has been the tradition of the Congressional Black Caucus each year to offer an alternative budget which embodies our vision for America. I am pleased that this year, our good friends from the Progressive Caucus have joined in this effort and I want to acknowledge the contributions of Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Progressive Caucus and Peter DeFazio, who heads the Budget Task Force. After many months of hard work, we have produced a plan which is both fiscally sound and morally responsible. Yes, we bring about a balanced budget by the year 2002. We recognize that our Nation cannot continue to carry this heavy burden of debt. During the Reagan-Bush era, we saw an unprecedented explosion of the deficit, as it first doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled. Fortunately, under President Clinton's leadership, the budget deficit has been cut dramatically and as we all know, our economy is markedly healthier than it was in 1993 when he took office. I am proud to be among those who supported his successful deficit reduction plan. We in the Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus want to continue to build on the President's deficit reduction success. We also want to strengthen and rebuild America by investing wisely--in education; job training; transportation and infrastructure; health care; and protection of programs on which older Americans rely--Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We reject the path taken by our Republican colleagues over these past 2 years, a path we believe the American people have also found to be dangerous and extreme. What kind of message does Congress send when it gives the Pentagon $13 billion more than it asked for next year, while at the same time proposing to cut Medicare for our seniors by $168 billion, eliminating Goals 2000, direct student loans, and State incentive grants? It is our contention that funneling resources away from sound investments like education, employment training, vocational skills, and scientific research, in order to purchase costly and unnecessary weapons will make our Nation weaker, not stronger. We need our students to be the best and the brightest as they carry America's legacy forward into the next millenium, meeting all the challenges of a dramatically changing global marketplace. During this past Congress, we were ultimately successful in saving items in the budget which make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans--programs like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program so that older people can pay their heating bills in the coldest months of the winter, and the Summer Youth Employment Program to give young people the chance to become productive wage earners. Our caring majority budget continues these important domestic investments. We also recognize America's role as a champion of democracy worldwide. In the area of international affairs, we provide support for emerging democracies in Eastern Europe and other nations in this post- cold-war-era. We maintain the current level of foreign assistance to Africa and support foreign aid grants to Egypt and Israel. We encourage efforts to reach a fair and just peace in places like Northern Ireland. In addition, in keeping with America's tradition of lending a helping hand to those in need, we provide humanitarian assistance through the Public Law 480 food programs.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Saturday, May 11, marks the beginning of Montclair days of caring. Montclair days of caring is an effort developed by the United Way of North Essex and a steering committee made up of Montclair community leaders and service providers. Montclair, NJ, is a township filled with individuals and families that care about their community. The Montclair days of caring is a perfect example of what can be done by a community of caring people. The residents of Montclair will participate in volunteer graffiti- littered walls with murals; cleaning up a neighborhood park, the railroad tracks, a day camp, the black top recreation area behind a center; painting the interior and exterior of the homeless shelter; working with youth in hands-on leadership problem solving exercises through gymnastics; creating get well cards for hospital patients; drawing on placemats for senior nutrition sites; repairing a gazebo; collecting and dropping off items needed for the homeless shelter; and donating blood. I am sure Montclair's volunteers will go home with a full sense of accomplishment and a sense of community building. They would have participated in activities to encourage people, young and old, to get involved in Montclair to make the town the best it can be. Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues will want to join me as I thank all the volunteers for their efforts in Montclair days of caring. I want to congratulate the United Way of North Essex and the steering committee for taking the initiative in developing this project.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, this weekend mothers all over the country will be honored. On Saturday, in my district, a special tribute is being paid to the mothers of the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in East Orange, NJ, pastored by the Reverend Donald C. Luster. In the African-American community, our female elders are honored with the title of mother. The women being honored by St. Paul's are all at least 80 years old and have served their families, our community, and the church faithfully for many, many years. These women have seen history in the making. They have made sacrifices so that others would be better off. Our communities were better off because of women like these who treated all children like their own. It was not unusual for ``Miss Rose'' to reprimand you for something you did wrong and then tell your mother about it when she came home from work. These women were the strength of our communities. In many cases, they were, and still are, our salvation. Mr. Speaker, reading the biographies of these women is like reading a copy of Who's Who. The group contains business owners, educators, a nurse, those active in politics, and seamstresses but most important, they are all mothers. They are mothers who love their children, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren, and their great-great grandchildren. And all of these children love them. Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues will join me as I offer my best wishes to all mothers, especially to the honorees--Mrs. Ophelia Love Achoe, Mrs. Armeller Brown, Mrs. Lucretia F. Counts, Mrs. Edith Cowan, Mrs. Ethel Green, Mrs. Alma Powell Gamble, Mrs. Alma Jones, Mrs. Luella Powell Koonce, Mrs. Era Worthy, Mrs. Florence V. Luster, Mrs. Daisy Tolliver--and their families.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 2, a retirement dinner is being held in honor of Mary Manley Howard. Mrs. Howard is ``a woman for all seasons.'' She has spent all of her life achieving. And through those achievements she has been better prepared to help others. Mary Manley was born to Susie Manley in Louisburg, NC. Her family had very limited resources yet she was instilled with a sense of pride and accomplishment and was taught that she could be anything she wanted to be if she worked for it. She knew the value of education and diligently worked to complete hers. During the summer months she would come to Jersey City, NJ, a city in my district, to work in different factories in order to save for a college education. During those summer trips she met and later married Donald Howard. Still committed to obtaining her degree, she returned to North Carolina with her husband and continued her education. She graduated from North Carolina Central University with a bachelor of arts in social studies and library science. Her studies didn't end there. She earned certificates in seven different education areas. She attended graduate school and graduated from Jersey City State College with a master of arts in reading. Upon her return to Jersey City, she was employed by the Jersey City Board of Education. Her career in the Jersey City school system has spanned more than 36 years. She has worked as a librarian, a classroom teacher, a reading specialist, and as a title I reading coordinator. The saying goes, ``to get something done ask a busy person.'' That is certainly true in Mary's case. Not only has she taken care of a family but she has also lent herself to her community. She has been active, very often in leadership roles, with the College Women of Jersey City, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Phi Delta Kappa, the International Reading Association, the New Jersey Reading Association, the National Council of Negro Women, the New Jersey Education Association, the Jersey City Education Association, the Hudson County Education Association, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Pavonia Girl Scouts of American, Monumental Baptist Church, and she served as a head teacher at summer school and as a volunteer probation officer. Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues will join me as I offer congratulations to Mary Manley Howard. I would also like to extend my best wishes to her and her family--her husband, Donald; and her three children, Deborah, Deirdre, and Donald, Junior.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleagues for their work in the fight against AIDS in our community. By producing this very important document, we here, in the spirit of bipartisanship, have taken another step to deal with the devastation and the threat that this disease poses to our society. AIDS is growing fastest among women and children in our society. By early 1993, 253,448 people in the United States had been diagnosed with AIDS. In my district in Newark, we have one of the highest reported percentages of women with AIDS. In fact, I held the first congressional hearing in my district on the AIDS issue. Later, we held a hearing on the problem of abandoned infants, where women infected with AIDS testified about the problems they encounter and their personal plight. As an original cosponsor of the Ryan White bill, I know the real travesty of this disease and we can prevent it. If this document is any indication, I believe there is some hope that we turn this tragedy into a triumph. I look forward to working very closely with my colleagues to eliminate the threat to our community and our society.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, President Clinton in his State of the Union Address promised ``to end the era of big government.'' Big government is over. I think we've got the wrong idea of exactly what the Government should and should not do. The other side wants us to believe that the United States should not be responsive to the needs of the poor, the hungry, and the dying. They don't want to share in the cost of peacekeeping missions, sustainable development programs, population assistance, and our national security. Yes, the cold war and imminent nuclear threats of communism and remnants of the past. The core missions of USAID, USIA, and ACDA have changed. Nonetheless, they have been able to adapt to the paradigm shifts of this era. I am ashamed that I live in a society that devalues human life. While our aid budget is shrinking, our defense budget is steadily increasing. Looks to me like someone forgot to tell the GOP that the Soviet Union is gone. The GOP claim that this piece of legislation is important because it reflects our American values. Our American values? If this is a reflection of our American values, it is clear just what we value. We spend less than 1 percent on aid to less developed countries even though the American people said they would be in favor of a 5-percent increase. The G-7 countries especially Japan has become the No. 1 aid donor. They are outranking us in everything. Where should U.S. foreign policy be targeted for the 21st century? I'll tell you. It should go to Africa and Asia where almost 45 percent of the people live below the U.N. level for absolute poverty. If this piece of legislation passed, it would undercut U.S. leadership abroad and damage our ability to assure a secure future for all Americans. As an American, I was led to believe that we had a responsibility to help out our allies and friends. Our friends on the other side of the aisle want to end the Agency for International Development's housing guaranty [HG] program, and restrict the United States from participating in the U.N. Human Rights Committee. They clearly have different value systems. The GOP wants to change that. The bill would also restrict funds to normalize relations with Vietnam. The Vietnam war was a horrible war in American history. The hard work we have made with the help of our foreign commercial service has opened markets. They have, more importantly, healed open wounds left from the war. Yes, my friends, the cold war is over. However, when we talk about cutting agencies like USAID, we are talking about returning to those dark days of foreign policy. Remember--when power and democracy were synonymous, when ballistic missile proliferation were our sleeping partners, our Japan policy was viewed through Soviet lens. The GOP wants to overturn glasnost and detente. The bill also limits participation in international organizations such as the United Nations. It also undermines the President's ability to conduct foreign policy. I have received many letters from my constituents saying the United States should pay up the debts owed to the United Nations. We use the United Nations as a shield and our scapegoat. We used the United Nations in the gulf war. I cannot with a clear conscience support the veto override. The state of the American Nation and the state of the world are depending on it. At a time in history when our enemies were clear, someone once said, ``We can only secure peace by preparing for war.'' Even though the Berlin wall has fallen, the GOP wants to take us back to isolationism of the 1930's. Let's let our democracy programs work before our missiles do. Sustain the President's veto of H.R. 1561-- Foreign Relations Authorization Act.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell] for handling this resolution. Mr. Speaker, last night we held a special orders session to honor our friend and a great American hero, Ron Brown. I rise now to join my colleagues in supporting this resolution paying tribute to this remarkable public servant. As Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown was known around the world as a tireless crusader for fair and free trade. A skilled negotiator, he kept America's interests in the forefront while winning the respect of our foreign competitors. Although Ron Brown's life was cut short, it was filled with extraordinary achievements: U.S. Army captain, vice president of the National Urban League, chief counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee, partner in the law firm Patton, Boggs & Blow; chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and his crowning achievement, Secretary of Commerce. His dynamic energy was the force that propelled the Commerce Department forward. He and his energetic young staff brought billions of dollars of business home to the United States, transforming a lackluster Federal agency into a whirlwind of productive activity. We take a moment now to say thank you, Secretary Brown, for being both a dreamer and a doer. Your candle has not been extinguished; its light continues to burn. Our deepest sympathy goes to his loving family--his wife, Alma and children Michael and Tracey and to the families of all of those dedicated Americans who died on that fateful mission. We will miss Ron. He was a true American. He was an American who said that we can do it. He opened the eyes of this world to what can be done with dedication. Thank you very much for your service.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I wanted to take some time this evening to pay tribute to a man so many of us knew as a great friend and a real true patriot. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown was a person we all knew and loved. So many people across this Nation have been inspired by Ron Brown, it is fitting that we celebrated his remarkable life and legacy. Even in the midst of our grief over his untimely passing, we recognize that Ron was the kind of person who would want to be remembered for how he lived his life rather than how he died. It has been said that a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Throughout Ron Brown's wonderful life he kept reaching, seizing each challenge with boundless confidence, with enthusiasm, with energy, with vision. Both in the private sector and in the public life he displayed that all- American can-do attitude, refusing even to entertain the thought that any obstacles would be insurmountable. It was this spirit that won him so many firsts. First black fraternity member at Middlebury College. First black to hold the position of Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate. First black partner at Patton, Boggs & Blow, and then on to becoming the first black chairman of the Democratic Party before being appointed by President Clinton as the first black Secretary of Commerce. Yet it was typical of Ron Brown that even as he built racial coalitions, he downplayed the significance of race as he sought to take on new challenges in his life. He said that race was not important as an obstacle. He simply said he can continue to move on up a little higher. I remember back in 1988, when I was a member of the Newark City Council and seeking election to the house of Representatives, Ron Brown was campaigning at that time to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I traveled to Washington with the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce early in February 1988 to their annual legislative visit, when we talked to legislators here and talked about policies for our State. During my stay I introduced our State Democratic chairman, Ray Durkin, to Ron Brown, knowing that Ron was seeking the office of chairman of the Democratic National Committee. After hearing Ron's ideas and observing his enthusiasm and his approach to problem solving and his enthusiasm and his approach to problem solving and his vision, the State Democratic chairman, Ray Durkin, made a decision right on the spot to support Ron Brown. He said this is the man we need to lead our party. I was pleased when our New Jersey U.S. Senator, Bill Bradley, immediately came on board to join in for the backing of Ron Brown to become the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In fact, New Jersey was the first State to endorse Secretary Brown when he made his run for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. Ron Brown did not run a narrow campaign based on race, he reached out to a wide range of Americans, as he always did in his life, ultimately convincing the electorate to return the White House to the Democratic party for the first time in over a decade. As a matter of fact, our State of New jersey went overwhelmingly for President Clinton for the first time in almost three decades. It was because of Ron Brown and his vision, his imagination, his creativity, his gumption, his stick-to- itiveness. He embodied the power of positive thinking, always looking ahead, assuredness, and optimistic. Secretary Brown became involved in politics in 1971, when he was a district leader in Mount Vernon, NY, in the Democrat party there. He made a name for himself in the Urban League with his innovative ideas and creative approaches. He loved both public service and politics. Before working for Senator Kennedy on the Committee on the Judiciary, he served as director of the California for Kennedy committee and later organized for Jesse Jackson's run for President. Another point that needs to be made, in this era when it is popular in some quarters to bash those who work for the Federal Government, that Ron Brown and those who perished with him out there, risking their lives under very dangerous conditions on a mission to improve the lives of people in Bosnia and to promote American products, American business opportunities in order to create American jobs. Secretary Brown and his staff worked tirelessly over the years bringing in billions and billions of dollars of contracts to Americans. Let us hope that out of respect for the victims and their families this unfair debasing of Federal employees for cheap political mileage will cease. Let me take a moment to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy who were connected to my home State of New Jersey who were on that ill- fated trip that day. We are proud of their service and extend deepest sympathies to their families. Lee Jackson, who was born in Montclair, NJ, part of my district, was Executive Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development at the Treasury Department. He was a young, bright African- American fellow whose father was a former newspaper person, who, as a matter of fact, was a very close friend of my Newark district office manager. We sat, Rick Thigpen and myself, watching the television, very saddened, awaiting the news from over in Croatia. Another person on that flight from New Jersey, Claudio Elia, was chairman and chief executive of Air and Water Technologies Corp. in Branchburg, NJ. Walter Murphy was vice president of global sales at AT&T Submarine Systems in Morristown, NJ. Our State also lost two young people who were serving our country in the military, as Secretary Ron Brown had done as a young U.S. Army captain early in his life. S. Sgt. Robert Farrington, Jr., was from Brierfield, NJ; and T. Sgt. Cheryl Turnege lived in Lakehurst before she joined the Air Force. Ron Brown left us too soon. He had so many gifts and yet he was not to have the gift of long life. We do not understand how life is given out, it is beyond us. Yet we can take comfort in the fact that his spirit, his zest for living, and his monumental achievements will definitely live on. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his loving family, his wife, Alma, his son, Michael, his daughter Tracey, and his grandchildren. We will keep them in our thoughts and in our prayers. At this time, I would yield to the gentleman from Virginia, Representative Bobby Scott.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you for those remarks. As you know, we are talking about the life of Ron Brown, but there were a number of people. I mentioned several of those who lived in my great State of New Jersey who lost their lives on that mountainside in Croatia and return flight from Bosnia. There were other people who worked for the government. As we talked about the fact that all too often it is made trite about working for the government, we hear people saying that Americans should not have to pay taxes. Why should we be involved in such things? What right do we have to take their money? We heard some of that dialog earlier here tonight. Well, because we live in a country that is great. We live in a country where you can get on a road and the road will take you where you need to go, with pavement, with utilities, with lights. We live in a place where you can drink clear water and not worry about having bacteria in it. We live in a place that you can call the authorities or go to a courtroom and find that you can have your cases heard. And that is why it is a responsibility of Americans to have a responsibility. As a matter of fact, at some other time we will get on to this subject, but people make it seem that here in America we are overtaxed. We pay about 29 percent. Japan used to pay 19 percent; they paid 29 percent. In the Western Europe countries, most pay 38 to 39 percent. We should take a look at the global situation, and I say that to say that Ron Brown was a person who had to take this unnecessary bashing. People in government took unnecessary bashing. We heard people criticize the Department of Commerce, but billions of dollars worth of business have been brought back to this country. There were other people who gave their life for this country. Bill Morton was a fellow who was always at Ron Brown's side. Bill was a deputy assistant secretary for international trade. He was a long time aide of Ron Brown. He graduated from Georgetown University, a native of Colorado, was always there when Ron Brown had to go. Did not like to fly at all, did not like travel at all, but he felt that it was his responsibility to his boss, Ron Brown. it was the responsibility to his country, and he went when called and did not want to go on that trip to Bosnia, but he was there. These are the types of Americans who are the unsung heroes, people who dedicate their time, their life, their energy, time away from their family. The Bill Mortons of the world are the type that makes this country run, that make it as great as it is. There were a number of people on that flight. Duane Christian, who was Ron Brown's chief security officer, a person who had been in this government for many years, used to work for the Office of Personnel Management, a former school teacher. On that trip was Adam Darling, just a 29-year-old person, a confidential assistant for the Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He worked in international trade, wanted to make America strong, wanted to increase our balance of trade, wanted to reduce the balance of trade deficit, a young 29-year-old person was there serving our country. Gail Dobert, acting director of the office of business liaison, a person who had worked many years on the Hill, who was there serving our country. Carol Hamilton, the press secretary for Ron Brown, who was a person who had worked in business and industry, worked for Chase Manhattan Bank, but decided to give her time, her talents to the United States Government and came to work in the Commerce Department so that the work that that great department was doing could be better told. We have Kathryn Hoffman, a special assistant to Ron Brown who was a person who was interested in politics, worked in the Clinton campaign during 1992, and actually was the person that produced the first African-American inaugural gala and leadership forum at the inauguration of the inaugural committee for President Clinton, a person who worked for Sony Pictures and in the past for Senator Biden and Julian Bond. A person with tremendous amount of ability, also lost her life. We have Stephen Kaminski, who was a senior commercial officer who traveled a great deal, who tried to see that the market access of American companies could be enlarged in places like Japan, and worked in capitals of Hamburg and Dusseldorf and Vienna, and was a person, a real world leader. Kathryn Kellogg, a confidential assistant, office of business liaison, who came to that office from a background with the Jay Rockefeller office and did a tremendous amount. And we had a very senior person with us on that trip with Ron Brown, Charles F. Meissner who was the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs, has been very active in government, and his wife was the Immigration and Naturalization Service commissioner, Miss Doris Meissner, and certainly our heart goes out to her, a person who is still contributing to our Government. Also a part of our Government team was Lawrence Payne, a special assistant, office of domestic operations. He was a person who added a great deal to the mission. Naomi P. Warbasse, who was a deputy director of Central and East Europe Business Information Center. We had James M. Lewek, who was an intelligence analyst who worked on European economic issues. He was a person who was an analyst, a very bright individual who served very well. So these were people who worked for our government who felt it was important, who felt they had a contribution to make, who felt that this great Nation of ours could do better. They never accepted enough was enough. They went on to move to higher heights. Ron Brown had gone on a mission to India. No one ever looked at India as a place where we should take trade missions. It was never on the radar screen. But Ron Brown looked at the population, a population of over 900 million people, a country that in the next 20 years will have a population in excess of the population of the People's Republic of China. It is estimated by the year 2020 the population of India will exceed 1 billion 250 million people--1 billion 300 million people. This is awesome. The People's Republic of China currently has 1 billion 100 million people. The population of the United States is 250 million. Ron Brown looked at India and said, after analysis, that India has as many middle-income people as the entire population of the United States of America. He was one that looked around and saw the poverty and saw the problems, but he also looked at the aggregate number, 900 million people, and found out that 250 million were middle-income people in India. And so he took a trade mission and, in less than a week, did over $7 billion worth of business on that trip. It was Ron Brown conceiving that there is opportunity in that great country of India. He took trade missions to South Africa, worked with Mr. Mandela. As a matter of fact, Ron Brown was one of President Nelson Mandela's favorite persons. Mr. Mandela, who, as you know, is probably one of the greatest leaders in this world, has tremendous insight, and he was a person that opened his doors to his personal home to Ron Brown because of the camaraderie between the two. Of course, President Mandela, being much older than Ron Brown, Ron just looked up to him and went to South Africa, and through Ron Brown's creativity the Mbeke-Gore Bilateral Commission for Trade, directly the deputy president, Tabo Mbeke, Vice President Al Gore cochaired this trade development that will increase imports and exports from these two great countries. Ron Brown went to Asia and was very popular. The Japanese trade officials enjoyed working with Ron Brown. They felt that he was very astute, and he did outstanding business in Japan. He was one, and we heard of Mickey Kantor and his debates in Geneva with the auto parts, but Ron Brown would go over to Japan, and it was, they call it, the ``bad cop, good cop,'' Mickey Kantor being the bad cop, tough guy, mean guy, never smiled, and Ron Brown would come with his smile. He was a good cop. But Ron would always get the signature on the dotted line. So, as we have recently heard, the tremendous increase in the amount of autos and auto parts being sold to Japan, a record for this country. Part of that success for our big three auto makers is because of Ron Brown and the work that he has done. He went to the People's Republic of China and was ready to do business all over the place. It was just that it was so large, Ron just took a little piece of it, but billions of dollars' worth of People's Republic of China. And so I mentioned these various missions that he took. He was interested in the whole relationship between Mexico and the United States. He felt that Mexico has tremendous potential, but that the human rights of people in Mexico must be observed better. He talked about changing over the type of government, making it more people oriented, and he was a person that saw that one way that we could stop illegal immigration is that Mexico itself becomes a place that people feel they should stay, their country. Most people prefer living in their own country. They do not like traveling to other countries. They do not want to learn a foreign language. They do not want to be put in substandard jobs. They do not want to be pointed out as the problem. So most people, wherever they live in the world, prefer to stay where their home country is. Ron Brown felt that, with Mexico developing, with opportunities in Mexico for Mexicans, that would be the biggest way to slow down and eventually stop illegal immigration and actually have people emigrate back to Mexico once opportunities developed there. But he also said that, as Mexico developed, that there would be markets for the United States, there would be trade opportunities, that it would not be a one- way street, but we would be able to solve a tremendous social problem in our country of illegal immigration. So Ron Brown's policies really affected the world, whether it was in the Far East, the Pacific rim, whether it was in the new independent States, or in Africa. He was a person who felt that we could do things best in this country, we make the best products, once we put our minds to it. He felt that all we had to do was to get an opportunity to introduce our business people to foreign markets, and that they would really jump on board on getting our products. So as we wind down on our commemoration of Ron Brown, the man, Ron Brown, the leader, Ron Brown, the father, Ron Brown was a person that even when he was under attack, and I sat at a hearing of the Committee on International Relations where there was the move to abolish and eliminate the Department of Commerce. Some mean-spirited questions were asked, and the manner in which some of the questioners on the other side of the aisle were lashing out at the Secretary of Commerce. He answered every question. He answered the questions well. He had the facts. As a matter of fact, when the hearing ended, most of the Members who started out with this mean-spirited slash and burn type of philosophy had to admit that the Department of Commerce had done an outstanding job; had to admit that, truly, this is the first Department of Commerce Secretary that the American people can say the name of the person. This is a Commerce Department person that people felt was doing the job. But in their fallacy, their preconceived notion was to eliminate the Department of Commerce. I think that that started to sort of slow down once Ron Brown really gave the facts to people. We are here to say, Mr. Speaker, that we hope that we will remember Ron. We will once again say that he was a great American. We will once again say that he is the type of person that we can have young men and women, African-American, Caucasian, native American, whatever, point to and say that he is the measure of a man. Anyone can succeed if you try hard enough, that all you have to do is to have a vision, have creativity, and be ready to step up to the plate. Once again, I would like to thank the Speaker for this time, and to express to my colleagues who came out tonight that I appreciate their participation this evening. I also appreciate the participation of many, many Members who have expressed their views during the past week that we have been back here, Monday, Tuesday, and today. As a matter of fact, concluding, it was going to be on a week from today that he was going to visit the Congressional Black Caucus' weekly meeting. We talked before his trip, and April 24 was the date that he was scheduled to come to talk about women's opportunities, small business, the census. So we will certainly even more remember him next week when we meet in our weekly Wednesday meeting. He is a true American, a real American hero.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman very much. I really appreciate the gentleman from Virginia for those kind remarks. Let me at this time recognize the gentlewoman from the great State of North Carolina, who has been doing special orders and has been talking about Ron Brown for the last day or two, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, Mrs. Eva Clayton.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me at this time. Let me say to Mr. Owens from New York that following your time, we are going to have members of the caucus come and make expressions. And so what I will do at this time is to yield back until the gentleman completes his special order. And then I will return back to the podium. I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding to me at this time.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce my colleagues to Ms. Eddiemae Livingston. Ms. Livingston is a true ``can do'' woman. I have known her for 30+ years and I still marvel at her compassion, passions, and competence. Eddiemae Livingston was born in Newberry, SC. She was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class and graduated cum laude from Benedict College in 1942. She was employed for nearly 5 years by the Federal Government in Washington, DC, and Newark, NJ. The city of Newark benefited from Ms. Livingston's expertise for more than 40 years. She served in a variety of positions from clerk-typist to assistant chief clerk, and executive secretary. Ms. Livingston has a passion for perfection. This quality is evident in her professional, civic, social, and religious activities. She is active in many organizations and her skills and leadership have been recognized by all. She has been active as a girls' counselor at the Newark YMWCA. Her work with the Newark Branch NAACP has been extraordinary. She served as an executive board member for 12 years. She now holds the title of Board Member Emeritus. She holds two NAACP life memberships and two NAACP Golden Heritage memberships. Her membership with the Hopewell Baptist Church began in 1963. She has served as its financial secretary for more than 12 years. Ms. Livingston has been a board member of the Newark Community Health Centers for 7 years and a member of the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women. Eddiemae Livingston enjoys bridge and poetry writing. In 1989, I was deeply honored when Ms. Livingston read one of her original compositions at the swearing-in reception for my first term in Congress. She has written two books, ``Poems and Reflections For All Occasions'' and ``Bridge Reflections in Rhyme.'' Mr. Speaker, I am honored to commend to the permanent record of the U.S. Congress the life and works of Ms. Eddiemae Livingston.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, in the first century, Pliny the Elder noted that ``There is always something new out of Africa.'' As we approach the 21st century, that statement is still extremely valid. There are many scholars who track this phenomenon, but there is no one more renowned than Dr. John Henrik Clarke. Dr. Clarke, a master teacher, always avails himself of opportunities to share his knowledge. This weekend he will visit Newark, NJ to participate in a lecture series sponsored by the New Jersey Black Issues Convention. In 1991, during the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference, I had the honor and pleasure of convening a workshop in which Dr. Clarke participated. His presentation was simply spellbinding. Everyone sensed and appreciated his labor of love-- teaching. I am sure my fellow New Jerseyans will come away from this lecture equally stimulated and satisfied. John Henrik Clarke was born on January 1, 1915, in Union Springs, AL. He grew up in Georgia and moved to New York City in 1933 where he wanted to pursue a career as writer. After 4 years of military service, he attended New York University and majored in history and world literature. From his early years Professor Clarke studied the history of the world and the history of African people in particular. As a writer of fiction he has published over 50 short stories. His articles and conference papers on African and African-American history, politics, and culture have been published in leading journals throughout the world. He has written or edited over 21 books. Dr. Clarke has taught African history for 20 years and presently in professor emeritus of African world history in the Department of Africana and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York City, and a former distinguished visiting professor of African history at the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University. He has received over a dozen citations for excellence in teaching and has received several honorary doctor of letters degrees. He was accepted into the Alpha Beta Upsilon Chapter of the honor society of historians, Phi Alpha Theta. Mr. Speaker, I encourage anyone who has an opportunity to learn from Dr. Clarke to seize it.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, let me first of all commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Owens], for calling this special order tonight. I appreciate having the opportunity to participate in this with him. Through our service together on the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, we have worked together many years on issues and projects, on educational issues, on issues of jobs, and I have always admired the gentleman's strong stand and his conviction and his willingness to stand up for what he believes in. So it is with that pleasure that I participate in this special order tonight and also to reiterate, as he said, that the Congressional Black Caucus held a retreat where we talked about the state of black America where we discussed issues that confront us as a people and this Nation as a country. One of the issues that continually came up and the issue that we overridingly talk about was the fact that the summer youth employment is an extremely important, critical and key issue to us in our communities. Tonight I am proud to join with him in standing up for young people in our communities. There is one concept now which all Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle can agree. It is the importance of instilling in our young people a strong work ethic. That is what made this country great; that is what made America what it is today. And a sense of personal responsibility. We hear so much about personal responsibility in the new majority's rhetoric. Personal responsibility also includes the opportunity to feel that personal responsibility by virtue of being able to have concrete, tangible goals that people can see and do, and that is where employment comes in. That is what the summer youth employment program is all about. More of us can remember what it was like when we got our first summer job. We can all remember that; my colleague mentioned that, too. Many times it was during elementary school or high school, and no matter how menial the job was, how unimportant it seemed to other people, we felt a sense of accomplishment, we felt a sense of pride, and we worked to live up to our employer's expectation as we collected our first paycheck. Many of us began saving for college. Some of us dreamed of one day owning our own businesses. My brother was very successful in having a business for 20 years that he ran, where he was involved with high technology in manufacturing computer forms. And so it was a dream that started when we had an opportunity to have a summer job. Today in too many of our economically deprived communities there is a serious shortage of summer jobs, despite the eagerness of thousands and thousands and thousands of young people who want to become gainfully employed. In the past, the summer job program has enjoyed strong bipartisan support for all the years. There has been a wide recognition of the value of providing low-income youngsters with valuable work experience at a critical time in their life were they learn these work ethics, work experience, the whole value of work. Young people need an alternative to hanging out on the streets, for drifting out in the community, and they will see this opportunity to be productive, to hold a job, if we will extend it to them, if we would reach out and say there is a job, because many times as I walked down my boulevards and my streets in my districts, sometimes late a night just to encounter the young people, they say, ``Mr. Congressman, won't you come on over here,'' and I will go over, and we will talk, and they will say, ``I'll stop hanging on this corner doing things that I'm doing that is not right if I could find a job..'' And they challenge: ``Mr. Congressman, can I come down to your office tomorrow and get a job?'' And it is a very shallow feeling when you say, ``Well, come down, and we'll work at it,'' but knowing that there are very few jobs available. I have been working with young people most of my adult life as a school teacher, as president of the YMCA of the USA before coming to Congress, and I have seen how positively young men and women respond when they are given an opportunity to hold a job, to earn a paycheck, that pride. I believe the new majority in Congress have made a big mistake in targeting summer youth employment programs for elimination, a big mistake. It would be abundantly unfair to pull the rug out from under so many deserving young men and woman. There is much emphasis today on dealing with the crime problem in our Nation, especially in our urban centers where crime is rampant. Congress sees to have no problem with spending billions of taxpayer dollars on new prisons to warehouse offenders. The majority of Congress voted to increase the expenditures for prisons from $7.9 billion to $10.5 billion, an increase, money taken away from prevention and put into more prison construction. When they talk about the costs per inmate, the costs of construction is not even built in. Any other kind of business, you build in the cost of construction, and it is $20,000 plus just for correction officers, food, health, and all of the things that go along with having 24-hour, 7 days a week, 360 days a year custodial care over a person. And so it certainly would be a much better investment in an employment program if we took the money and put young people back on the right track. So I hope my colleagues will join with us in restoring the $635 million for this summer program. In keeping with our efforts to compromise on the budget, it actually will bring down the figure from last year. It is only 75 percent of the 800 million that was appropriated last year, and so it is in keeping with gradual decrease. Let me just say once again that years ago, when I was employed in the downtown business community, there were jobs available at the utilities firm, at the insurance companies, at the transit company, and young people would come and get summer jobs, and so the necessity for government to be the employer of last resort was not even necessary at that time. Today in my community those companies no longer have summer jobs available. Those companies no longer have the work force they had in my city of northern New Jersey. At one time 500,000 people lived there, just about 1 million people were there during the day. Today we have a city of 275,000 where during the day the numbers do not swell much because the employment opportunities are not there. So if the full-time employment opportunities are not there, then the summer job opportunities are not there. And so I just appeal to the President, when he sends back his veto message, and I personally mentioned this to him on yesterday when he was in New Jersey, that young people must not, must not, be sacrificed, that when this CR comes back, it must have in it the money to restore summer youth employment, which was not in either bill, and it must be in the bill when it comes back. I had the opportunity to work as a waiter, a truck driver, a lumber handler, a warehouse man. I worked as a longshoreman. I did just about--postal employee. I was a teacher. I did it all, and it gave me the whole sense of feeling empowered because of earning my way. As a matter of fact, as I conclude, I was a newspaper boy. I remember at the young age of 9 starting my job. I think you were supposed to be 12, but I just told them I was old enough. But I started a job, and at that time it was just delivering of 3-cent newspapers. This was back in the forties, and I made three-eighths of a cent a paper, and I only had 30 customers, so I had to build my route up. I built it up to over 125 customers because then in order to make a dime, I had to deliver 30 papers. And so that was slow. And so it just gave me the opportunity to have my own business, to move, to earn, and actually made about maybe $3 a week, and had 50 cents taken out on a payroll deduction at that time to put down when I decided that I was going to go to Seton Hall and that it was not enough of a scholarship money in order for me to go. And so I can remember very clearly those days, and it instilled a pride. We do a disservice to young people today when we take away the opportunity for them to achieve. It is unfair that they do not have the opportunity to be successful. It is just like in some school districts that the young people do not have the opportunity to learn, and then they fail standardized tests. It is unfair. We have to stop being unfair to young people. We have to start treating them with dignity, self-respect, the total person, the mind, the body and the spirit, the triangle which makes the full person. This Nation is taking away from our future a major ingredient and the opportunity to earn a living, an opportunity to learn, and we need to talk about that at some other time. But the gentleman was kind enough to yield, and so I will conclude by urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join with us in restoring these very, very crucial and important funds.